The Château of Le Rivau brings heritage to life like never before! The ancient medieval forest is a perfect backdrop for the castle’s ancient architecture and multiple gardens, offering a totally magical experience, and the current owners’ resourcefulness has transformed Le Rivau into a fairy-tale castle.

Built in 1420, the château was brought as a dowry by Anne de Fontenay for her marriage to Pierre de Beauvau, who was Grand Chamberlain to Charles VII. The king granted him permission to fortify to the medieval building, which was already well-known at the time because of the war horses trained there. Joan of Arc and her companions even came here to find horses for the Siege of Orléans. Pierre de Beauvau built a real fortress with turrets, moats, machicolations, a drawbridge and ramparts which still bear testimony today of typical fortifications in the Middle Ages. His descendant, François de Beauvau, continued the works and renovated the superb stables, which were the first in France to be decorated in such an ornate style. 

Although imposing from the outside, the château was furnished with interiors that were far more inviting, reflecting the finesse of a pleasure residence. Generations of the Beauvau family lived at the château, which is not far from Chinon, the home of the renowned writer François Rabelais. The latter even mentioned Le Rivau in his novel Gargantua: “since Gargantua gave the Château of Le Rivau to Captain Tolmère, as a reward for his victories in the Picrochiline wars”! In the 18^th century, the château was bought by the Marquis Michel-Ange de Castellane, Lord of Villandry, before passing between various owners until the 20^th century, when it became the property of the sculptor Alphonse de Moncel de Perrin. In 1918, he successfully received classification for the castle as a French Historic Monument.

At the end of the last century, two new people moved into the property and “magically” transformed it into an extraordinary castle worthy of a fairy tale. From the monumental Gothic fireplaces to the painted ceilings, the interiors were fully renovated and theatrically redesigned. The château now echoes with a plethora of sounds recreating the time of lords, tournaments, feasts, and musicians… a real spectacle that culminates in the stables with audiovisual projections. Another magical touch is brought to the château by the contemporary works of art that have been slipped in amongst the collection of hunting trophies, humorously revealing a new type of hunting art. The many delights at Château of Le Rivau also notably include the gardens, where reality makes way for the romance of fairy tales, and a fantastical natural world...